1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of foot orthotics and specifically towards shoe inserts with increased foot support and shock absorption.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various foot and related back problems occur to numerous people. These problems can stem from impact occurring during walking, running, jogging, and other activities. Additionally, because the foot bears the weight of the person during these activities, problems also arise due to a lack of support for the foot and ankle.
Generally, there are two types of xe2x80x9crollingxe2x80x9d movement that occur with the foot. First, pronation is the downward rotation or rolling of the foot towards inside or medial side of the foot. Second, supination is the downward rotation or rolling of the foot towards the outside or lateral side of the foot. Although both of these movements normally occur, excessive rotation or rolling is not desired. In fact, excessive rotation causes undesired discomfort, pain, and fatigue, which often lead to chronic trauma of the foot and related anatomy if left uncorrected over time.
Various methods and devices have been developed for use in a variety of shoes in order to seek additional cushioning and shock absorption during impact while walking, running, and other activities. These methods and devices provide some protection to the shoe wearer""s foot. This is particularly true in athletic footwear where the foot is exposed to repeated shock from impact during jogging, running and other athletic activities. Additionally, various other methods and devices have been employed in shoes that seek to provide a custom fit of the shoe around the contours of the shoe wearer""s foot while still providing support and stability to the foot.
Different types of foot orthotics and related systems have been developed for use with footwear to provide support to the foot to prevent or hinder abnormal or excessive lateral movement. These foot orthotics or support systems have been developed to compensate and correct such abnormal movement. Typically, an orthotic is an orthopedic device designed to protect, support, align, prevent, correct, restore, or improve the function of the foot. In this case, the orthotic is typically used to treat abnormal pronation or rolling of the foot. Although pronation of the foot usually occurs to most people, an abnormal range of pronation is not desired. Thus, various orthotics have been developed to prevent or at least reduce any abnormal pronation.
An example of such an orthotic is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,680 to Comparetto discloses a foot supporting orthotic having parallel, separately flexing rays extending forwardly from an arch region that in use underlies the arch of a wearer""s foot. The rays are bowed by spring-like elastomers and facilitate the shock absorbing and adaptation stages of walking.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,923 to Lehneis discloses a sole for a shoe that is constructed with a relatively rigid top layer or insole and a relatively rigid bottom layer or outsole which are mounted for relative rotation about an axis perpendicular to and extending through the center of the sole. Between the insole and outsole, there is provided a relatively yieldable elastomer layer, which permits relative rotation between the insole and the outsole upon rotation of the foot during walking, but will resiliently restore the insole and outsole to an aligned position when the torsional force of the foot is removed.
In addition to providing added support or stability to the foot, there are prior art devices that have been developed to provide added cushioning and custom fit to the foot. These devices are constructed to provide a softer shoe sole by utilizing softer, more resilient material. Further, these devices incorporate fluid filled pads or bladders in the sole of the shoe.
Often times, in providing additional cushioning in the shoe sole, these types of shoes sacrifice or reduce the support and stability provided to the foot by the shoe sole. In particular, shoe soles that employ fluid filled pads or bladders to provide cushioning to the foot are often incapable of providing cushioning to the foot for all of the varying magnitudes of force exerted on the foot and the varying areas of the foot subjected to the forces in footstep impacts in jogging, running, and other athletic activities. Typical fluid filled pads or bladders are usually designed to provide cushioning in the particular area of the shoe sole where the latter is located. For example, pads or bladders are located in the heel or the forefoot areas of the shoe sole. Many prior art fluid filled pads or bladders are effective in providing cushioning to the foot only when the force of the footstep impact is concentrated at the center of the fluid filled pad or bladder. Should forces from the footstep impact occur along the outer or inner edge of the runners foot, as is often the case, the footstep impact forces exerted on the outer or inner edges of the prior art fluid filled pads or bladders often cause the fluid to be forced from these areas to other areas of the pads or bladders. With the fluid having been forced from the outer or inner areas of the pads or bladders, these pads or bladders are incapable of providing any cushioning of the force of footstep impact along the outer or inner edges of the foot.
Various patents existing in the art disclose the use of an insert that can be placed inside of a shoe for providing cushioning support. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,717 to Allan et al., discloses the use of bladders that are filled with fluid to support the forefoot and the heel areas. These bladders are connected by fluid connecting channels and are therefore in fluid communication with each other. This insert however, can only be used with shoes that are constructed to have recess cavities capable of containing therein these bladders. Absent these cavities, the bladders cannot function properly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,791 to Kramer, discloses the use of plugs that are disposed on the insole, wherein each plug is compressible, thereby conforming the insole to the shape of the individual""s foot who is wearing the insert. A limitation of the Kramer patent is that it does not include air pockets. Absent these air pockets, a shoe cannot be comfortable if the plugs do not compress in the proper conformation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,202 to Hoppenstein, discloses the use of an insert utilizing gas filled and gel filled cells, which alternate such that when the pressure is on one cell, the other cell will move. As a result, the insole will be conforming to the shape of the individual""s foot. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,781 to Pavesi et al., discloses a footpad, which includes a plurality of inserts that have an elastic response to pressure. The insert includes the formable elements that are positioned throughout the pad.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,687 to Lin, discloses a shoe pad having a massage effect that includes utilizing a plurality of bulbs that are evenly distributed over the upper surface of the insert. These bulbs are filled with air and are compressible. Also included with the shoe pad however, are cells that are in fluid communication with one another. The cells are located at both the heel of the pad and where the ball of the foot would be located also. This fluid communication allows air or other fluid to pass between the two sections such that there is pressure distributed between the two.
Although there are numerous inserts that exist in the art, they all have their drawbacks. Accordingly, there is a need for a footpad or foot orthotic that utilizes cushioning pockets in order to provide added support and shock absorption. Such a device results in decreased foot pain and back pain. Moreover, such a device will aid in the treatment and prevention of related foot, joint, and back pains.
According to the present invention, there is provided a foot orthotic including a base mechanism for underlying a sole of a foot, a first cushioning mechanism, and a second cushioning mechanism. The orthotic base mechanism is any type of foot orthotic that includes a proximal end for underlying a heel of the foot and a distal end for underlying the forefront of the foot. The first cushioning mechanism is operatively connected to the orthotic base mechanism at the proximal end, while the second cushioning mechanism is operatively connected to the distal end of the orthotic base mechanism. Additionally, there is provided a foot orthotic including a first cushioning mechanism and a second cushioning mechanism that are independent of each other. The present invention additionally provides for a method of making the foot orthotic and method of using the foot orthotic disclosed herein.